Liv nodded, flicking her beady eyes between me and Saul. “How’s it going, Saul?” She focused on him and narrowed her sight. Was that suspicion on her face? If it was, it served her right to get a dose of her own medicine. Now I was the one with the guy, and she was the one wrinkling her eyes up at us. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I dumped my overnight bag on the floor.
“Going good. It was one of the best getaways I’ve ever had.”
She turned back to me, a smirk painted on her face. “Oh, was it? Glad to hear that.”
“What about you, brat?” I swatted her with my pillow and sat on Saul’s bed. “What did you do with yourself all day? We have to practice. Have a rave to perform at tomorrow evening.”
Liv set her guitar to the side and watched as I backed onto my pillow and proceeded to kick my shoes and socks off. Relaxing into the soft bed, I let out a long, satisfied sigh. I was exhausted. Sex and hiking really sucked the energy right out. It was a gratifying feeling, the kind that made the body ache in all the right spots with just the right amount of burn. Loved it.
“I just played for a while. Luckily, the front desk hasn’t complained. I don’t see a lot of cars out in the lot. There mustn’t be a lot of people staying here, or I would’ve gotten a ring or two from the complaints, which is awesome because I needed to play. It was a nice stress relief.”
“Stress from what?” I turned to face her. Perking up my interest, it was my turn to question this girl. “How was your night with Jonas?”
Liv looked away, and she pretended to play with a loose thread from her blanket after setting her guitar to the side. “It was fine. Nothing too crazy. Had a nice home cooked meal by his housekeeper, Caridad. She’s an amazing cook. Really authentic food. Absolutely fantastic!”
I was impressed. A home cooked meal? I’d love one. “Wow, lucky. I need a kitchen. I miss cooking.”
Peering around the room, I frowned at the sparseness of it. It lacked a real kitchen, though we had small kitchenette with one burner, a microwave, and a slow cooker we’d found at the thrift store. It still wasn’t a home. Would we ever have a home? I missed the RV with Rachel. She was so amazing, taught me to cook and bake all kinds of meals with cheap ingredients that lasted for days in her tiny RV. What I wouldn’t give to have those days back.
“You guys should think about renting a house,” Saul suggested. He’d been listening to our conversation with heightened interest. Both Liv and I turned to look at him with confused eyes.
“Rent a house? They are sky high here. Besides, who wants to maintain all that?” Liv waved her arms around, almost dropping the book she now had in her hands. She always had to have something to do or she’d lose her mind, whether it was playing, reading, sleeping, dancing or something. Shaking her head, she muttered under her breath and replaced the book back onto the nightstand next to her bed.
“We’d never be able to afford one,” I answered.
“Why not? You pay a ton on motels. I bet you could afford one if you tried looking. Furnished even.”
I studied Saul’s gorgeous face. He didn’t wear his sunglasses inside with us, so we were used to his startling appearance. I was happy to have such an admirable man to look at, even when he did suggest the impossible.
“I don’t know. We can’t sign leases for too long. Not with all the traveling around.”
“There are some with short term leases… six months, three…You’d be surprised what you can find.” Saul held his arm out to me, and I immediately crawled across the bed to settle into him. We both sank into the pillows and stared at the ceiling.
I could feel Liv’s eyes on us both, but I didn’t care.
“We should do that, Sis, find like a three month lease. It would be cheaper than this crap hole.” Liv jumped up from her bed and marched over to the small fridge. Yanking the door with a violent force, a couple bottles of water fell out. She didn’t bother to pick them up. Instead, she stared at the meager contents of our fridge before mumbling under her breath again, grabbing one of the bottles, tossing the other one in, and slamming it shut.
“I’m famished. Seems like it’s always time to eat around here. Want me to grab some take out?”
“Sure, I’ll buy.” Saul rubbed my arm, and I could have just smiled forever.
“Yeah, get whatever. I’m not picky.”
Liv grinned wickedly and leafed through the pile of takeout menus scattered on the dresser. It was a stack we ended up collecting really fast at hotels, of the nearest take out places.
“How about Mr. Wong Fu’s?” she asked.
“Chinese it is.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Liv
I’d just left practice at the Rave bar. We’d packed away our equipment, not trusting the other musicians to leave our stuff alone before the show later tonight. It was in a large bar with a huge dance floor, which made me frown upon seeing it. Lots of western dancers there tonight, and I wasn’t sure if they were as fond of our music as others would be. I hoped they were. Some played all sorts of music, but some were strict on the country music, except tonight of course. Tonight was a mish mash of it all with five bands playing, including us.
I couldn’t wait, but I hoped it didn’t end up an epic fail.
I was debuting a new song tonight, and I was afraid one of us was going to forget the lyrics or notes at one point or another. It’d happened during practice until I practically snapped at Audrey. She took the wrath of my frustration since Saul was still so new to our band. Still, I felt like shit after yelling at my sister, and had to walk around the neighborhood markets to blow off stress afterwards.
The stores were busy enough that I was pretty anonymous in the crowds. The market was half inside a warehouse building and half outside. The sun at midday was a killer, but a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses kept me safe enough. I studied the wares people displayed on the endless rows of tables and tents, anything from paintings, to jewelry, clothes and luggage all over the place.
It was like retail hell. Loads of stuff people could use or not use were scattered all over the place. I checked out a used musical instruments stall and eyed their guitars for any good deals. We still had a substantial amount of the thousands I’d stolen form Ruben, but I was pretty frugal. I preferred to find treasures on the cheap, shop at secondhand stores, and get jewelry from the pawn shops or places like this where they go for a tiny percentage of their original prices, if I haggled enough. If there was something I was a professional at, it was haggling. I could bargain my way down to the absolute bottom line price a seller would ask for an item. I swear, I pissed so many of them off in my day that I’d be surprised if my face wasn’t posted on some blacklisted person’s site for independent retailers.
Today I’d found no deals worth more than a moment’s consideration, which was unfortunate. I needed to buy something or find that phenomenal deal that would give me the high I needed to break from my glum since I’d seen Emilio. I was even more conflicted with our relationship now than I had the day we’d spent together in bed. It’d been like nothing I’d ever experienced before, and I wanted more of it. Like an addiction immediately forged, I hadn’t seen him for over a day, and I could feel the withdrawals trembling inside my veins. That wasn’t good, especially since I belonged to Jonas. Not Emilio. Our relationship would have to remain a secret. There was no telling what sort of wrath Jonas could deal our way if he ever found out about Emilio’s betrayal and my unfaithfulness.
All this gave me a headache, and I searched for a food stall that would have some Aguas Frescas. Some Horchata or cantaloupe juice would be just the thing for me right now. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so a taco or some sort of Hispanic concoction was in order. I searched down two aisles before I found one with a line six deep.
I groaned. I was starving and not in a good mood whatsoever. I prayed the line would move swiftly as I slipped in and gave the clerk a drilling stare down.
Ten minutes went by, and only half of the peop
le in line were served. I groaned and contemplated finding another stall when a tap on my shoulder made me jerk around to find myself face to face with Emilio.
“Fancy meeting you here.” He smiled, his teasing brilliant teeth flashing in the afternoon sun.
“Emilio.” The stunned voice coming out my mouth made me want to slap my confidence back into me. “What are you doing here?”
He pulled me closer, looping my arm through his as the line moved forward. It felt nice yet awkward to be so close to him when I’d just been wondering about our relationship.
“I’m shopping. What else do you do here?”
It was our turn to order, which made me double take the lady at the cashier box as she waited patiently for my order.
“Can I help you?” The woman looked bored yet flustered, like she loathed her job and was there by family obligation. The entire crew looked related.
“What do you want to eat, Muñequita?” Emilio asked as his arm let go of mine and his fingers found my own to lace through.
“I—I want…some Carne Asada tacos and a Horchata Agua Fresca,” I mumbled. The lady tapped furiously into the register and peered at Emilio for his order.
“I’ll take the same.” He winked and handed the woman a fifty. “Keep the change.” With that, he led me over to the open counter where the pickups were. I could feel the lady’s eyes on us as she beamed from getting a nice tip.
Finally, I tugged away from Emilio. “What the fuck? How did you know where I was? Are you spying on me?”
He handed me my drink and a straw. “Drink up. I think the heat is getting to you.”
Before I chucked the Styrofoam drink at him, he grabbed two baskets filled with tacos from the counter and motioned with his head toward the eating tables under a huge tent to cover the area from the scorching sun.
I grumbled under my breath and reluctantly dragged my feet behind him to a clean table. He sat opposite from me at a round table we had all to ourselves in a far off corner. We sat quietly as he handed me my taco basket with napkins and a few slices of lime.
“You look hungry. Eat up.” He stuffed the first taco down his throat and chewed pensively as his stare drilled into me.
I exhaled slowly, wondering if I was just losing my mind. He was right; I was starving and in no way able to think straight without some fuel. I stuffed the first taco in and chewed as briskly as I could without choking, while intermittently washing down the ball of taco with Horchata.
After several minutes of doing this, when we were halfway done with our meals, I figured it was time to start the discussion all over again.
“So, are you following me?”
Emilio swallowed down a swig of his drink and folded his hands on the table.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Jonas wanted me to.”
I slumped in my chair, feeling defeated. “What else did he say?”
“He wanted me to watch over you, make sure you’re okay. He misses you.” Emilio continued to eat as if he was talking about boring mundane office work. I wasn’t sure if it horrified me or made me feel even more pissed off.
I huffed. “He does, huh?” I shook my head and shoved my taco plate away. My appetite had died within a millisecond of him saying Jonas’ name.
“Yes, he does.” Emilio’s relentless gaze made me squirm in my bones. Why was it so hard to see what he was thinking? What could be lurking in that head of his? Did it even bother him his brother was asking about me? “In fact, I think he actually is telling me the truth.”
“Well, he hasn’t even called me.” I frowned and smashed my napkin before I pulled it apart into tiny, ripped up pieces, not even sure why this fact was bothering me.
The weight of Emilio’s stare made my cheeks run hot, and I couldn’t bear to look back up to him. Why this man made me feel like he wanted no one else in the world, and yet made me squirm with just one look, made me wonder if I did the same to him.
“Do you want him to call? I can pass on the message.” Emilio tossed his crumbled up napkin onto his plate and leaned back, never looking away, always so sure of himself. How does a person remain utterly confident, no matter what? How did they remain calm and composed, when life usually felt like a storm brewing across every horizon I crossed? I hated him for it, but envied him at the same time.
“I don’t know,” was all I could manage. I picked at the remains of my tacos and wondered if I should eat them or give up. I gave up in the end and rose, shoving the chair back before making my way to the waste receptacle and tossing half my lunch away, followed by my drink cup. Emilio was hot on my heels and followed by dumping his trash, coming after me as I walked back onto the main market street. He didn’t miss a beat, did he? It made me wonder if I’d ever be able to shake him. But did I want to shake him off? I didn’t know the answer to that.
“Are you going to follow me all day? Is that what Jonas told you to do?” I chastised, giving him a cold, hard, mocking look. I dared him with my eyes to give me the wrong answer. Challenging people was my gift. Audrey always said I should’ve been a lawyer or a politician. I’d burn my competition with the stare downs and quick rebuttals against anything said. Whittling down the enemy with my cool, sharp tongue was fun. I got off on it, so what?
His response wasn’t the fight I’d expected. In fact, he gave a short nod and grinned sheepishly like he was forming a tiny plan inside that head of his. It was the look of a hunter, a player…something I recognized in myself. I’d never met my match before, and I didn’t feel like doing so just yet.
“Can I? Jonas didn’t ask me to yet, and I didn’t volunteer, but…” His eyes roamed over my chest and down to my hips, causing a slight pleasurable shiver to run down my insides. “If you let me, I’d love to do any kind of following you allow of me.”
My words stuck in my throat, and I literally had to fight to suck in a breath after holding it for a second too long. How dare he be so damn charming? Flicking my gaze back and forth from one of his dark eyes to the other, I searched them for something to make me turn right then and flee through the crowd, never to look back. I dug into those soft, brown portals that held so much yet didn’t give me as much as I wanted from them. They wanted more. I wanted more. The problem was, I just didn’t know if I could give enough. What would it cost me?
“Okay.” I turned and took a step forward, but before I could complete it, he had a hold of my wrist and was spinning me around.
“Liv,” My name on his lips was all it took. He had me, and I hadn’t ever planned to give me up to anyone, let alone him. Let alone Jonas’ brother. I was in dire trouble, worse than with Jonas on my back.
“Yes?” My breathy voice betrayed my need to find the nearest empty slit in the wall and wrap my legs around his masculine waist. Could he feel it too…this throbbing need waiting to be quenched?
His fingers laced through mine, and I could barely breathe, let alone look down to see them gently curl around mine; a firm but gentile grip, one that claimed me as his, and it felt good, felt right. I loved it and wanted more. Of him, I needed more.
“Come with me. I’ll show you so many things. You’ve seen nothing of the world, really, but there’s so much in every place, even here in Los Angeles. I want to show you more than just what you can see with your eyes. Thank you for letting me follow you.” He lifted my hand to his lips and gave it a lingering kiss. The crowd riding around us like we were an island disappeared from my sights, and I felt like the world was just him and I.
Nothing made it out of my mouth while he led me wordlessly down the rest of the street, our bodies swallowed by the crowd. The anonymity it provided gave me a slight relief to the fear of being seen by Jonas’ others, the ones he kept close to him when in full-on business mode... the killer mode. I gulped. Emilio was just as frightening, if not more so than Jonas, but this kinder, less hardened side of him he allowed me to see showed me much more of him than I’d never thought possible. It had me puzzled with momen
ts like these that made me wonder if I could stay the course on my plan, or just who was I kidding? I’d never be able to escape these brothers. My plan was as good as yesterday’s newspaper, covering up the sleeping homeless man we just passed and lining the frigid, hard cement bench underneath him, smudged and dirtied along with yesterday’s happenings…forgotten.
Don’t lose yourself in this mess, Liv, I told myself as we wove past the crowd and into the parking lot. Emilio went for his truck and opened the door to the passenger side for me without missing a step. Who said chivalry was dead? Not with Emilio. It was alive and well, and I couldn’t help having the biggest smile slathered on my face as I watched him make his way to the driver’s side of the truck. I just hoped, at the end of it all, I’d still be alive to tell about it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Audrey
Nothing prepared me for this. I couldn’t even imagine Liv getting involved with Jonas’ brother, Emilio. What the hell? For now, they kept it from us, from me and Saul, and somehow they kept it from Jonas too. On the last night of our string of performances at the Rave club, where we’d lucked out and were asked to stay on for a three week gig, I saw her and Emilio, kissing in the back of the club, out in the darkened alley where they thought no one would see or hear them. We’d finished one of the best sets of my life; our voices had never been more in tune, and we’d never played without so much as an error. It’d been absolutely immaculate.
Afterwards, Saul and I shimmied up to the bar for drinks and chatted with the bar’s owner, Luke. It was because of him we were getting renewed interest in our music and had booked another gig for two weeks at a rival bar, but Luke didn’t mind. He loved the idea of fighting over popular indie acts.
“You’ll be back. You’ll hate that dump so much you’ll beg to come back here.” He winked at me and placed a glass of beer in front of me without my asking. I accepted without protest, knowing he’d never take no for an answer. He kept us well fed in the alcohol department; not so bad for me and Saul, but Liv loved it.